From Across the Sea
by Hawkmoore
Summary: Kiku is a commoner who met a sailor named Alfred who came from across the sea. Kiku doesn't know why he is here or why he's so attracted to this stranger, but he intends to find out. Human names used! Rating will go up in future chapters!
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note

This is my second attempt at a good story so I hope you like it!

Human names used!

Rating **will** go up in future chapters.

Warnings: None for this chapter

Disclaimer: This is a fan-based story. Hetalia: Axis Powers and Hetalia: World Series are both owned by Funimation Entertainment, Hidekazu Himaruya, Gentosha Comics, and Tokyo Pop. Please support the official release.

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**1849 Edo, Japan**

The morning light streams softly through my window, causing my shadow to fall upon the shrine before me. The candles flicker from the slight breeze coming through the door while the incense burns and the small streams of smoke rise in rolling waves. I bow low on my mat so my nose nearly touches the floor. Stone tablets with carvings of my ancestor's names reflected bright light onto the walls.

"Bless my house and my fields. Let this be a great harvest." A pray quietly, sitting back up, folding my hands. My robes and the sheer heat of my home cause me to perspire, but a little discomfort could not make me leave from my morning ceremonies. Outside, the other families also have their doors open, attempting to catch a breeze and cool themselves. All is quiet at the moment because like me, everyone holds morning ceremonies to the highest importance. The families would be together, praying silently and then they would have breakfast before work began and the markets opened, "Let me make my ancestor's proud of my actions and decision in this life." I continued.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, screams break out and feet trample outside. I glance over to my open door. Shoguns in heavy armor whizzed past the streets, wielding their heavy blades. _What is happening?_ My heart pounds in my ears and I say another quick prayer, "Protect my country and my Emperor." I bowed once again and bounded into my room, stripping off my robes as I went. I changed from my ceremonial robes into my casual light brown robe which I wore every day. I folded my robe neatly and placed it on a low table in the corner by where I would normally sleep.

Whatever was happening, I had to see it. All my life, I'd never seen anything so strange as the Shoguns being so frantic. Normally they were so fierce and composed. Something must have happened and I intended to find out.

My sandals were by the door, right where I put them after I came in from the fields. I hurriedly put them on, tying the strings. My neighbors also took notice of the commotion and began to come out of their homes. They looked around for signs of danger. Finding none, they trailed after the Shoguns. Some of our warriors yelled for the villagers to stay back, jabbing at them with their swords, not meaning to injure, but to serve as a warning.

The day was warm and the flowers bloomed with little sweet smelling flowers. A slight sea breeze stirred the air and the gulls squawked, but when the people began to emerge from their homes so abruptly, they silenced. I joined the growing crowd as we made our way to the beach. Like me, everyone was interrupted in their morning ceremonies and were frantic to change so most of everyone's hair was in a frenzy and our robes were wrinkled. Some of them didn't even put on sandals and sand covered their feet and ankles.

I couldn't quite see over the crowd as we merged onto the beach. The waves rolled lazily and washed over the beach, hissing as it receded back into the sea. _I must see what is happening._ I tightened my fists and shoved my way through the crowd, trying to keep low. I had finally made it to the front of the crowd, only to bump into one of the Shoguns. He was in full uniform so my nose was smashed against his armored back. He didn't seem to notice, however, and continued watching the water.

A little ways away, a small canoe with half dozen or so men in strange clothing were conversing with the Shogun. They were still in the water so they had to yell to be heard over the water breaking on the shore. The strange man was shouting something, but I wouldn't understand him. _That can't be Japanese._ I rubbed my nose, thinking.

The man pointed in the distance. Three of the largest ships I'd ever seen in my life were shimmering in the distance. They were dangerous looking and grey shining in the sunlight. They also had long, dark cannons, all pointing toward the shore where we stood.

Another man aboard the canoe yelled. I could understand this one, "In the name of the President of the United States of America, let us come ashore! If you refuse, we will open fire!" he raised his voice above the waves.

This caused a stir in the crowd. Some of them began to run back to their homes while some shouted back. I could only stand there, mouth agape. _Why would they do this to us? Are we not on good terms with the United States?_ These questions swirled in my head, causing a twinge of pain in my temples.

Our warriors began whispering amongst themselves, glancing over to the leading Shogun. The situation was perplexed; either give into what these foreigners demand and let them enter the isolated country or refuse and be open fired upon. Either way, not everyone would be happy with either decision.

The head Shogun whispered to his right hand man, "Call the Emperor; tell him foreigners are demanding his attention by show of force." and then he turned to the strangers as the man nodded and shoved his way through the crowd to make his way to the temple, "You may come ashore, but be warned: if you are looking for a fight, you shall receive it!" to make his point, he jabbed at them with his blade.

The man then turned to the other in the canoe and said something to him. He gave a command and the other men began to paddle with their oars, bringing them onto shore. They were indeed strange looking. All of their hair was a shade of yellow or light brown and they wore trousers with boots and a simple shirt with ruffles at the shoulders and cuffs. They each had on their back some sort of weapon, I presume, though I wasn't entirely sure what it was supposed to be.

The translator met my gaze. He seemed a little different than the others. His face wasn't as rough as the others from the sea breeze and his bright emerald green eyes held a certain sparkle to them. This man was much taller than I and his hair was an ashy blonde with a strange group of hair sticking straight up where his hair parted. He smiled when he noticed me. I felt my face heat up and I looked to my feet.

_Why did I just do that?_ I shook my head at myself, watching the water swallow my toes before leaving once again. I didn't know why I felt so self-conscious all of a sudden, but now I knew my face turned a deep shade of pink. I began fixing my robes, straightening them out and combing out my long hair with my fingers.

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Author's Note

Yes, Kiku has long hair at this point, but in ancient Japan, a lot of guys grew their hair out.

Like I said previously, the rating of this FF will go up in future chapters, but I don't expect this story to be any more than 25 chapters.

Next chapter: Kiku meets the mysterious stranger


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note

I know this took a while to post, but I finally did it! I actually had this ready yesterday, but the login for the site was down, do I was forced to wait. I have to start taking turns with this story and with my other one, so I'll post this and then I'll work on the next chapter for my other fanfic and so on and so forth.

Warnings:

Human names used!

Rating will go up in future chapters!

Disclaimer: This is a fan-based story. Hetalia: Axis Powers and Hetalia: World Series are both owned by Funimation Entertainment, Hidekazu Himaruya, Gentosha Comics, and Tokyo Pop. Please support the official release.

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The Emperor wanted to yell, but he took deep breaths instead, calming himself. He had just been alerted that the President sent a small army of sailors to his shores, demanding to see him. When he passed the houses in the village, the people who decided to stay at home ran to their porches, getting on hands and knees to bow before him. Some had even laid cloth on the ground so he wouldn't have to walk on the ground, watching to make sure they wouldn't get too close to him or they would face the sharp edge of a Shogun's sword.

By the time the Emperor reached the beach, he was seething with anger. If it was a war the States wanted, a war they would get. His people who saw him fell to their knees, bowing so low their noses pressed into the sand. At the moment even if they hadn't shown respect by bowing, the Emperor would not have noticed; he was too distracted by the man who appeared to be their captain. The man was well dressed and had a large hat and a thin, polished sword in his belt, "What is the meaning of this?" The Emperor bellowed.

I didn't even notice his ruler's presence until he began to shout, too captivated by a particular American's eyes- blue as the ocean and shining with all the glory of the sun. It was as if a spell had been cast upon me, holding my gaze. _My Emperor!_ I finally realized who stood to his left. I dropped right there, touching his forehead to the sand for I held a deep respect for the ruler of Japan and showed it every chance I encountered.

I could hear the "captain" speaking, but I still couldn't understand him. Then, the hypnotic American began to translate, speaking loudly so everyone could hear, "The President of the United States would like to begin a trade route with you." I could imagine his lips moving, his hands gesturing to the crowd, "He will give you tree days to decide what you would like to do. However, keep in mind that we could be a valuable asset and our gifts to you would be great."

I tilted my head to the side to glimpse at the American. His figure blocked out the sun, casting a shadow upon the sand. I couldn't see until now that the sky was reflected off something on his face. It appeared to be made out of glass and cut into rectangles, twined together to balance on his nose. There were so many things about these people that I do not know of, interesting things.

The Emperor paused, thinking. Then he furrowed his brows, "Fine," he said sternly, "In three days, we shall meet in the palace and discuss how this trade will fare." He was obviously not pleased with his options, but how could he refuse right away with the cannons facing the beach?

I could see the man visibly relaxing, shoulders lowering slightly, slight frown disappearing. He turned to his captain and repeated what was said, translating. The captain spoke again, pointing toward the village. Once again, the man I was captivated by turned to my Emperor, "We were also wondering if you would be so gracious as to allow your people to house some of the sailors."

At this, some of the people bowing on the shore sat up in disbelief, giving the American an uncertain look. Would the Emperor let these strange men live in their houses, sharing the same table with them? We couldn't even understand what they were saying. I too looked up to the man. He seemed uncertain, not the same as when he first demanded for the Emperor to show himself.

"Why would I let a bunch of hoodlum sailors to live in the same vicinity as my own people, in my country?" The Emperor bellowed.

To this, the American paused, his eyes flashing around the faces of my people for an answer. I watched those blue portals scan the crowd like a laser. My ancestors must have been in my favor because his sight fell upon me. He looked me up and down and said, "We have been at sea for almost four months now; the men are in need of good housing." He tore his gaze away from me to watch my Emperor, "Do it for Japan, for the welfare of your country. As I said before, the United States would be a valuable ally and trading partner- you would have so many resources which you do not have." he had a good point, but I still wasn't too certain of my Emperor's answer.

He didn't answer right away, but I could tell my leader was thinking, hard. Finally, he answered, "Fine. But I won't force any of my people to do so, only if they wish to." he nodded, satisfied with his answer before turning to face one of the Shoguns, giving a hand signal.

The Shogun understood and turned to face the crowd, "Are there any citizens willing to volunteer to house a sailor?" he didn't have to speak very loud, for no one make a sound- they were all to uncertain to speak.

The translator's gaze found mine again, pooling blue eyes captivating me. It almost frightened me how this stranger could hold me in such a trance. I'd never seen such a beautiful color before in my life, at least not in a person eyes. This man must have cast a spell of some sort on me because I hadn't even realized my hand was raised until the Shogun spoke again, "Anyone else?"

I looked around at the faces of my people. They seemed cautious, watching me for any sign of doubt. However, they found none. A few brave souls also extended their hands high to the sky, followed by a dozen or so more.

Later…

"Man, I can't believe how pretty Japan is!" The strange man exclaimed, his magnificent eyes darting around to the trees and the misty mountains surrounding the village. Only roughly ten minutes passed since my Emperor stepped onto the beach and already we were making our way over to my house. Those of us who volunteered were assigned with the American sailors, but since there were no more than four allowed with a single family, only a handful of the foreigners were able to be housed.

I smiled slightly, thinking of how fortunate I was to have the translator with me. Because it was only him whom was assigned to me, I would be able to focus my energy on him and only him. A certain feeling bubbled in my stomach, but I wasn't certain what it was exactly, "Thank you. I am happy you find my country beautiful." What else was I supposed to say?

I found myself looking to the ground, "What is your name?" We'd reached my front porch. I stopped and quickly looked him up and down. He was much taller than me and with darker skin than mine. Also, that one piece of hair never seemed to move from standing up. He also had that strange device on his nose which hooked around his ears, holding glass slates. He was in a simple shirt and trousers with high leather boots. They weren't in their best shape and smelt of fish, but they held together and he had a small bag slung over his shoulder with a strap along with the strange weapon I saw before.

"Oh, how could I forget the introductions?" he hit his forehead with the palm of his hand, "I'm Alfred Jones!" He extended his hand towards me.

_What is he doing?_ This seemed so strange and I didn't know what to do except return his name with my own, "My name is Kiku Honda." I bowed. It seems we both equally confused each other; he kept holding out his hand as I waited for him with bow.

The tension in the air hung heavily, but the large smile of "Alfred" never wavered, "Wow, you guys sure are different." I wasn't sure if I should have been offended to this or not, but he pressed on, "So, since we're so different, if I have any questions, I'll be sure to ask you and vice versa."

"Actually, I do have a few questions." I heard myself saying. I sucked in a breath. How can I be so blunt? Curse my self-control! Now I was certain he _must_ have put a spell on me, no doubt with his eyes- this must have been the reason I wasn't feeling myself at the moment, "What is that weapon on your back? And what is that balancing on your face?"

He didn't seem to see why uncharacteristically rudeness and answered, "Oh this?" he reached around his shoulder, clutching the thing. He held it in between us, "This is a rifle. I was required to bring it with me from the ship." I could feel him watching my face, but at the moment, my attention was on the weapon. It was wooden with a few metal parts and a strap connected to it. I could sense a hidden strength within it, but I didn't say so. He slung the rifle back over his shoulder, "And these-" he touched the frame on his face, "Are my glasses; they help me to see."

I nodded, only half understanding, but it was bad enough I was already being a terrible host that I didn't want to push my luck with the American so I turned to my porch, "Let us go inside now- I will make us lunch." My face began to heat up.

As soon as these words escaped my lips, Alfred was already opening the sliding door, shouting about how "starving" he was. He didn't even take off his boots and began tracking mud and sand into the house. I quickly went onto the porch, slipping off my sandals before assessing the damage to my floor. He left streaks of filth on the wood, which I just happened to clean the night before. I sighed deeply, and made my way to the closet in the corner, grabbing a cloth from it. I then proceeded to wipe up the mess.

Alfred plopped down his bag and rifle beside table, taking in his surroundings before noticing what I was doing, "Oh, man!" he came over to me, still tracking mud, "Did I do that? You want help?" he lowered himself to my level.

"No. I can get it." I was still the host and therefore I was responsible for the mess. I should have asked to remove his shoes ahead of time so it was my fault, "Just please take off your boots and put them on the porch; I will clean them later." Alfred nodded, rising and going out the front door. I looked on after him. It seems they _were_ different from each other, very different. _What have I gotten myself into?_ I pondered.

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In case you are wondering, this is based off the actual historical event of the US's attempt to begin trading with Japan, a country which had been isolated for 200 years. Of course, the actual story about Kiku and Alfred was just made up, but I thought it would be a neat idea.

Next chapter: Kiku has his work cut out for him.


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